Financial Focus: The Path to a Bigger Tax Refund for 2021 – Itemized Deductions (Part 3 of 7)

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

While the majority of Americans probably may not be eligible to itemize, I encourage you to give yourself what I call the “Itemized Deductions” test: Add up all the sections below and if that number is higher than your standard deduction then itemize, itemize, itemize, with Form Schedule A. First, understand all taxpayers, based on filing status, get a no-questions-nor-receipts asked, automatic standard deduction. According to the IRS, “for tax year 2019, the standard deduction amounts will increase to $12,200 for individuals, $18,350 for heads of household, and $24,400 for married couples filing jointly and surviving spouses. For 2019, the additional standard deduction amount for

If you read part one of our seven-part series on how to get all your tax money back, we will now discuss one of the best, one of the most complicated and one of the most fruitful ways: children. According to the IRS, children are not your babies but people that are growing fast! What the IRS wants to know is whether they are your dependents. Do they produce income? Do you maintain their support? How old are they? Are you separated or divorced? Do both of you share the burden? Maybe only one? Therefore, what is a dependent? Children and

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

Most people mistakenly think that tax preparation is tax planning time. But by thinking this way, they think they could “erase” or “add” things that happened in 2019 when it is now 2020. So in short, if you did not plan in advance, that’s why it’s called tax planning, folks! Your refund for 2019 is now complete! But what about your refund for January 2021? After all, it’s the first week in January; don’t you think you should start planning now? Well, if you’re smart enough to plan now for a higher tax refund in 2021 (for this year’s taxes

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

Twenty five years ago, we woke up to the phrase rapid refund! And many of the big income tax preparations companies advertised this misleading phrase–and the people ran there–to find out it was not a refund but a loan instead. New York State lawmakers declared in 2002 that so long as customers were made fully aware of what it is and sign disclosures then it was perfectly legal. And now in 2019, the tax loan/refund process has gone in full gear. You would think you’re doing your taxes with the big tax preparation companies, but sometimes I wonder if those

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

So what is the purpose of work? To take care of yourself? To take care of family? To build a career? Is having a job the same as a career? And does it provide you the same satisfaction? While you think I might be talking about today’s gig economy, I was actually thinking about the entrepreneurship wave that took place in the 1980s and 1990s. From former President Ronald Reagan’s supply-side presidency, to former President Bill Clinton’s workers throughout the nation were getting hired, albeit with low wages, watching the new technology of the 1980s and 1990s slowly start to

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

When one is on Social Security, their “raise” or cost of living adjustment, is usually tied in to a federal measurement called the Consumer Price Index or CPI. So, when one looks at the CPI measurement coupled with Social Security recent 2020 announcements show, in our opinion, national troublesome wage stagnation while enjoying a helium balloon type economy. First, a little back history. CPI measurements showed in 2012 that the CPI, was 3.6 percent, the highest in several years prior. Since 2012, the measurement has continued to trickle down. In 2018, the CPI was at two percent. Our new government

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA, PFA

Over the course of the last several years in New York City we have seen a moving change in our citizens and the way they are voting. We have become, as some would say, much more progressive than in any time in our city governance. Others would say we are going back in time! Yes, an oxymoronic moment has taken place this election season! We have gone back to the future! Think of Abbott and Costello’s “13 x 7= 28” bit (or go to YouTube). But the following math really does add up to 28, and it’s called ranked-choice voting.

By PROF. ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

“Money, sex. Those are the two most private things for most people,” so when trying to win new clients you need to be careful, said Mr. Kenneth Fisher, founder and chairman of Fisher Investments, according to a report by Business Insider. He said, “It’s like going up to a girl in a bar … going up to a woman in a bar and saying, hey, I want to talk about what’s in your pants.” Yep, Mr. Fisher said that! He said this too, according to a recording obtained by CNBC: “I mean the, the most stupid thing you can do,

Financial Focus: When Does Your Dollar Turn Into 80 Cents?

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

Ever wonder if your money is ever getting ahead in life? That every time you spend a dollar, why does it feel that everything is so expensive? Or let me put it another way: why does it feel like your money is being devalued? That’s simple! The answer is, it is!. So what devalues money, especially from one state to another? Many things: city and state taxes, inflation, and/or business greed. The value of your money fluctuates from state to state, coast to coast. And we on the East Coast know what that means, right? Everything is too high? Or